Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah, Utah's largest health insurer, is introducing a new program called "BabyWatch" to help women deliver healthier babies through identification, education and monitoring of expectant mothers.
"The sooner problems are identified, the more successfully they can be treated and the better the chance for a healthy pregnancy and full-term delivery," said Dr. W. Knox Fitzpatrick, the company's medical director and vice president of managed care.Because premature births are consistently one of the biggest health care expenses faced by health care insurers and employers, company officials believe if they can avoid those costly births it will be beneficial to everyone connected to the health care industry.
Staffed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield registered nurses with extensive clinical experience in obstetrics, BabyWatch is designed to provide supportive services to all pregnant mothers who participate.
The program also allows each woman to develop an open and communicative relationship with a registered nurse who can respond to individual questions and concerns. The program is offered for purchase to employers with more than 50 employees.
Fitzpatrick said expectant mothers should call BabyWatch by the 12th week of pregnancy and answer a series of confidential questions from a nurse. At that time, the woman's potential for high-risk pregnancy will be evaluated. The nurse also will provide information on the importance of proper medical care and physical health.
Each woman will receive a pregnancy calendar that contains a week-by-week description of ex-pec-tations for a pregnant mother. A specific nurse will be assigned to each mother to follow the case through birth. Women found to be high-risk will be monitored closely.